Looking back, the writing was clearly on the wall for Justin Meram to make a late game-winning
play in the Crew’s road game Saturday against New England.

In the second game of the season, Bernardo Anor scored a pair of goals in a Crew home win.
The following week, Meram came in as a late substitute on a turf field inside a football stadium
and scored a late, game-winning goal to beat Seattle. So when Anor bagged another brace July 19 in
a win against Montreal at Crew Stadium and a game at Gillette Stadium loomed next on the schedule,
well …

“I guess if Bernardo could score two goals every time, that would really be nice,” Meram
joked after Tuesday’s practice session at the Crew’s facility in Obetz. “I’m probably going to have
to yell at him, since he’s my roommate on all the trips.”

You can watch the highlight here. Waylon Francis plays a short pass up the
left sideline to Federico Higuain, who then finds Meram at midfield. Meram had just come on in the
83 rd minute, but he takes a touch and lofts a long pass up the heart of the field to a streaking
Ethan Finlay, who finishes it for the game-winning goal.

“I kind of looked up before I got the ball, before Pipa played it to me, and Ethan made a
great run,” Meram said. “With his speed I know if I can just put it in his vicinity it’s going to
be a chance for us. Luckily enough it was pretty spot-on and Ethan did the rest.”

Said Finlay after the game, “(Justin) picked his head up and saw the run and played a great
ball just out of (Darrius) Barnes’ reach, and I was able to bang it home. The ball tonight by
Justin was fantastic. Unbelievable vision. For him to see the run and play the perfect pass that he
did, I had the easy job to finish it off.”

There was a similar play in the first half, where Adam Bedell played the ball back to Higuain
who played a through ball to Finlay. Finlay was in alone on Bobby Shuttleworth, but the goalkeeper
came out and cleared the ball.

“We identified that there’d be space coming from our outside guys behind their center backs
after watching the first half,” coach Gregg Berhalter said. “We wanted to take advantage of that."

In Meram’s case, however, it wasn’t a ball that was played backward. His ball was played
directly through, but Finlay’s run was again an outside player cutting through the middle. Although
he celebrated his winning goal against Seattle by embracing the coaching staff, Meram said captain
Michael Parkhurst told him he wasn’t allowed to do that again.

“I kind of screamed at the coaches for a second and then I had to find where Ethan was and
celebrate with him,” Meram said with a laugh. “I kind of had the same reaction as Seattle, but I
didn’t run as much to the coaches. I was already kind of there and Parkhurst told me I couldn’t
celebrate with the coaches anymore so I had to find who scored the goal.”

It was another example of the impact Meram can make as a late-game substitute. His
game-winning goal against the Sounders came in stoppage time after he was subbed on in the 89th
minute. This season, he has 19 appearances including eight starts and has scored two goals and
added two assists.

“He’s been great,” Berhalter said of Meram accepting a role as a substitute. “He gets
frustrated if he doesn’t play sometimes but he also knows what he can do and what he can do on
limited time. Not everyone can make an impact like he makes in a short period of time. He’s
accepting it and he wants more. We judge him every day. We rate him every day in training and the
time he gets on the field. If he’s always producing, he’s going to be on the field.”

And as far as coming into the game hot, Meram said his MLS experience helps.

“It was my second touch of the game but you’ve been here so long and played many games where
it’s kind of second nature,” he said. “You’re going to get in and already feel part of the game.

“It’s exciting, but it’s not about me getting an assist. It’s about us getting a win. That
was such an important game for the Eastern Conference race. Whether you start or contribute, I’m
fine with sometimes having that role of coming off the bench and helping the team because if that’s
going to help get a win, then I’m part of this team.”